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Fentanyl, oxycodone & alcohol caused Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs to choke to death, autopsy finds

Posted at 4:19 PM, Aug 30, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-30 16:43:36-04

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs had a mixture of fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system that caused him to choke on his vomit, the Los Angeles Times reported citing an official autopsy released Friday.

Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room on July 1 after he was late arriving to the stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Skaggs had pitched just two days earlier.

The Skaggs family released a statement to the Los Angeles Times:

"We are heartbroken to learn that the passing of our beloved Tyler was the result of a combination of dangerous drugs and alcohol. That is completely out of character for someone who worked so hard to become a Major League Baseball player and had a very promising future in the game he loved so much.

“We are grateful for the work of the detectives in the Southlake Police Department and their ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding Tyler’s death. We were shocked to learn that it may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels. We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them. To that end, we have hired attorney Rusty Hardin to assist us.”

According to the CDC, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Vomiting is considered one of the side effects of fentanyl, especailly when mixed with alcohol.